Health News at Your Fingertips

Federal parliament is at the centre of another sexual assault allegation, AAP reports.

The Department of Parliamentary Services today confirmed it’s investigating a matter reported in March.

Police have confirmed they received a report of a man indecently assaulting his female colleague in December. The people involved were employed at parliament house at the time, but are not politicians or political staff.

A report about the incident involving “building support staff” was received in March, an ACT Police spokesman said:

“Specialist investigators from the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team have spoken to the complainant and they have advised they do not wish to proceed with an investigation. Support services have been offered to the complainant and if [she] wishes to proceed – the matter can be re-opened at any time.”

A department spokesperson said an investigation into the allegation is under way, separate of any action that might be taken by police:

“This issue is ongoing and for matters of privacy no further comment will be made. Allegations of sexual assault reported to [the department] are referred to police as a matter of course.

The spokesperson said the department “is committed to the safety of all building occupants”.

Police described the report as one of “indecent assault” and not sexual assault.

“If the Liberal party had full control of its destiny, or if there were a suite of viable options, this political movement would not be presenting a fresh leadership team of Dutton and Barnaby Joyce as the answer to Saturday’s electoral rout, because – how can I put this politely? – that would be nuts.”

Another must-read column from Katharine Murphy.

Outgoing Liberal MP for Curtin Celia Hammond has conceded to independent Kate Chaney.

The Western Australian seat saw a 15.3% swing against the Coalition. Chaney currently leads by 1,696 votes.

The Liberal party will examine where its campaign went wrong following the election loss on Saturday, AAP reports.

The review, announced on Thursday, will be overseen by senator Jane Hume and the party’s former federal director Brian Loughnane.

The campaign review will focus on the “long-term challenge” for the party presented by independents, after many seats were lost to so-called “teal” candidates. The Coalition lost six seats across the country to independents, many of them considered to be areas of Liberal heartland.

The party’s performance among different voting groups as well as the candidate selection process will also be put under the spotlight.

Smith says it was justified to describe electorates that fell to teal independent candidates as “entitled”, adding no one is entitled to their seat.

Kew is a diverse electorate but there are some very very loud people in Kew who before I had my … issues … made it very, very clear what they thought of me.

This is not the Melbourne I remember. I remember growing up in a Melbourne that was quiet and polite and pleasant.

I do think inner Melbourne’s become vitriolic … vicious … I’ve been on the receiving end of it and that’s not the Melbourne I grew up in.

Tim Smith is appearing on ABC Drive with Raf Epstein. He becomes teary discussing last year’s car crash, which he says “ruined my life”.

“It’s the first time I’ve spoken about it on air in seven months and … geez, I wasn’t expecting this,” Smith says, becoming audibly emotional.

He tells Epstein he is “100%” addressing drinking issues.

This is no blame on anyone but me, I think through all those lockdowns a few of us got into some really bad habits and that was me too. You can see I’ve lost a lot of weight and all the rest of it, I’m heading in the right direction.

NSW responds to electricity price jump ordered by Australian Energy Regulator

The jump in standard electricity prices of as much as 18% that was ordered by the Australian Energy Regulator earlier today has prompted another response from a state government.

Queensland, as we saw earlier, raised a planned rebate of $50 to all households to $175 – a task helped since that state government owns the main generators, networks and so on. If there’s a windfall profit, they have a rake to collect some of it.

In NSW, the challenge is a bit different because all the generation assets have been flogged off (AKA privatised or asset-recycled). The Perrottet government is also on the cusp of releasing its next budget, with its final pre-election effort landing on 21 June.
Even so, treasurer Matt Kean has just announced the state will be raising the amount of money households struggling to pay the bills can access by a third, starting Monday.

In a statement, he said:

Eligible customers can receive payment assistance of up to $400 per application for electricity and up to $400 per application for gas bills twice a year. This means the annual maximum limit of vouchers has increased from $1,200 to $1,600 per household.

Eligibility conditions can be found at www.service.nsw.gov.au/campaign/savings-finder, by phoning 13 77 88 or visiting a Service NSW centre.

The state’s Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) program had helped 49,000 NSW households experiencing short-term financial hardship with their energy bills, the government said. The extra outlay was part of a wider $330m a year package assisting more than 1m households.

Daniel Hurst

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is now answering questions from journalists in Fiji.

One question is whether Australia will be urging Pacific nations to opt out of the 10-country security and cooperation agreement that China has proposed.

Wong says Australia will work in partnership with countries in the region. She says countries will make their own choices, and she respects their sovereignty but adds that they should think about long-term implications:

What we would urge, as Australia, is consideration of where a nation might wish to be in three or five or 10 years. I always think that is a good way to approach big decisions: think about where you might be in a decade.

Wong is asked about calls for Australia to go further on climate, including curbing fossil fuel projects and exports. She rejects any suggestion that Australia’s policy is “lip service”, and says “it is true we export a lot of coal to China”.

She talks about the economic transition that is under way in Australia.

We are lifting our ambition very substantially and it isn’t just lip service. We will put this in law to be on the path to 2050 net zero emissions.

Wong observes, drily, that she hopes journalists have an opportunity to ask as many questions of China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, when he visits next week.

Tim Wilson reflects on losing his seat of Goldstein

Benita Kolovos

Tim Wilson has made a public appearance at the National Energy Efficiency Conference in Melbourne on Thursday, after losing the seat of Goldstein to teal independent Zoe Daniel. He told the crowd he was feeling “great”:

I know that sounds really odd but I’m very open about the journey that I’ve gone through from foetal position crying on Sunday morning through to seeing … a psychologist yesterday for thinking am I moving through this too quickly? Am I papering over pain? And I know that sounds really silly, but it’s true.

I know there’ll be a diversity of views about me in the room and the public and everything else. But I just got to this point the other day for somebody who has experienced loss and everybody will experience loss and in different capacities, and I just felt this incredible sense of gratitude and a perspective about the privilege that I had.

Asked if the government’s 2030 target, which environmental scientists and the international community described as unambitious, made it harder to win his seat, he replied it didn’t:

There is obviously concern about the environmental consequences of climate change in our country, including my constituents – former constituents, where I live – and then there’s the economic conversation, which is a different part. And if you’re going to go for a race on who’s going to have a bigger target, I was never going to win that conversation because we’re tempered by reality and maybe sometimes people think too tempered by reality and lacking ambition but there’s competing interest because we represent the cities, the suburbs and rural and regional communities and we take the position, which is our objective, to the whole of the country forward together, the Greens don’t have to worry about that.

I’m not picking on them, they’re just contextually relevant. You know, they just worry about taking forward urban constituencies mostly, where the jobs or consequences of what they’re putting forward isn’t factored in as much … and the same can broadly be said for the Labor party versus for instance the National party. But I think if you’re getting into this contest about who is going to out-Green everybody, you know, we’re never going to do it …

And I think there are other issues that play out very strongly in the election, which made it harder for people to win their seats, including myself, which aren’t related to climate change. That doesn’t mean that it’s not an important part of that, but it was, it was a subset of issues.

Daniel Hurst

This line from Wong is particularly pointed in attempting to contrast Australia’s approach to China’s:

Ultimately our relationship with our Pacific family is not a suite of initiatives. It can’t be counted only in dollars or MOUs. But it so much more. Because nothing will change our geography, our proximity. Nothing will change the fact that our future is intertwined.

Daniel Hurst

Wong sets out an implicit contrast with China:

My brothers and sisters, our region has not faced a more vexing set of circumstances for decades.

The triple challenges of climate, Covid and strategic contest will challenge us in new ways. We understand the security of any one Pacific family member rests on the security of all and we have a collective responsibility as we face these challenges to secure our region’s interest today and in the future. And as Australia’s foreign minister, I commit to working with you and to listening to you, this generation of Pacific leaders to navigate these challenges together. We will remain a critical development partner for the Pacific family in the years ahead.

And Australia will be a partner that doesn’t come with strings attached, nor imposing unsustainable financial burdens. We’re a partner that won’t erode Pacific priorities or Pacific institutions. We believe in transparency. We believe in true partnerships. We will respect Pacific priorities and your institutions. We will support growth and development that is sustainable.

We will contribute to the long-term stability and security of the Pacific. We will expand opportunities for Pacific workers in Australia whilst also improving their working conditions. We will deepen our defence cooperation and our maritime cooperation. And we will offer quality climate resilient infrastructure. And we will increase Australia’s overseas development assistance to the Pacific by $525m over the next four years as we work with you in the recovery from the pandemic.

Wong says Albanese government will ‘end climate wars’

Daniel Hurst

Wong continues her speech in Fiji.

That is why I have travelled here this week – to make clear on behalf of the new Australian government, and in particular on behalf of the new prime minister Anthony Albanese – our commitment to you: we will work with you to make our Pacific family even stronger.

We will listen. We will hear you – your ideas for how we can face our shared challenges and achieve our shared aspirations together.

Wong moves on to climate. She says:

I understand that climate change is not an abstract threat – it’s a present and an existential one …

I understand that – under past governments – Australia has neglected its responsibility to act on climate change. Ignoring the calls of our Pacific family to act. Disrespecting Pacific nations in their struggle to adapt to what is an existential threat.

But whether it manifests in rising sea levels in Pacific Island countries, or in disastrous bushfires and catastrophic flooding back at home in Australia, climate change is happening across the Pacific family.

So I assure you: we have heard.

As our election last weekend showed – Australians understand the imperative of acting on climate change. The climate crisis loomed as one of the key concerns to the Australian people.

And there is huge groundswell of support for taking real action on the climate crisis in Australia … and the new government is firmly committed to making it happen.

We were elected on a platform of reducing carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. We’re not going to say this – we will enshrine it in law and submit a new nationally determined contribution to the UNFCCC very soon.

Wong adds:

We will end the climate wars in Australia. This is a different Australian government, and a different Australia. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Pacific family in response to this crisis.

Penny Wong speaks in Fiji

Daniel Hurst

Henry Puna, the secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum, is introducing the Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, in Suva, Fiji.

Puna said he was particularly heartened to learn of Wong’s commitment to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart and to wave the voice of Indigenous people into Australia’s foreign policy. He said this was a “special move”:

Our respect for culture and indigenous identity here in the Pacific is what sets us apart from the rest of the world.

Puna also welcomed Australia’s recognition of the “ongoing climate crisis”.

He said the issue was “so critical to our survival” and the region cannot settle for anything less than “urgent climate action now”.

Wong thanks him for the introduction:

This is my fourth day as foreign minister … I hope I will be here often and I hope that we can work well together as we deal with the challenges and opportunities this world presents us with.

Burney says she “isn’t putting any firm timelines” on the process towards referendum, but the prime minister has indicated he would like to see it in the first term of government.

Burney is then asked about Youpla, the funeral fund that’s left thousands of people out of pocket. Burney says Stephen Jones will be minister responsible in government.

We have agreed collectively that there needs to be a proper inquiry into this deceitful, deceptive and disgusting company that has basically preyed on the vulnerabilities of Aboriginal communities and have actually abused the cultural practices of Aboriginal people. From there we will make firm decisions. I am clear thousands of people have been ripped off.

The position of the Labor party at the moment … is to have a very deep inquiry into what happened. Obviously the issue of compensation is going to be something that will come up. And I will obviously talk with the prime minister, talk with the people that are responsible for the financial undertakings within our government, and come to a view.

But please be assured that I completely understand just how difficult and just how wrong this situation is.

Linda Burney wants to build consensus with public as well as parliament on Uluru Statement of the Heart

Linda Burney, the first Aboriginal woman to serve as federal Aboriginal affairs minister, is up on ABC afternoon briefing.

“It feels exciting, a little bit daunting,” she says of her new role, but life experiences have primed her for the position.

Asked how confident she is to negotiate a referendum on the Uluru Statement from the Heart and a constitutional voice to parliament with the Greens, who want treaty and truth telling first, Burney replies:

The important thing is to build a consensus within the Australian public as much as building a consensus within the parliament. Obviously the Greens are [in] support of Uluru. The question I have is whether or not the Liberal-National party will come onboard. I have a role as a consensus builder. That’s how I see it. It’s going to be the Australian people that will have the ultimate decision about whether our referendum is successful or not.